[2] London South coast (→) The tournament began on 26 July 1948 with a preliminary round of two matches: Luxembourg defeating Afghanistan 6–0 and the Netherlands beating Ireland 3–1, with Faas Wilkes scoring two goals for the Dutch.

In goal for Britain was Ronnie Simpson, who would go on to become the oldest Scottish international debutant in history and one of the Lisbon Lions.

Their forward line contained three exceptional players; one of them Gunnar Gren scored a brace in an easy win.

There were two goals, as well, for future FIFA World Cup star Željko Čajkovski in Yugoslavia's 6–1 rout of Luxembourg, although they were behind at half-time.

They would later participate in the 1950 FIFA World Cup and beat the favourites England in one of the greatest upsets in football history.